Before the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor, the US Navy's Asiatic Submarine fleet (29 submarines) had been based in
Manila in the Philippines along with 3 cruisers, 14 destroyers and a numbers of
smaller vessels.

When the war started the Japanese
bombed the Navy Base at Cavite quite extensively. The submarines were operating
near the Philippines at that time. Captain John Wilkes who had been Commander
SubsAsiatic Force was due to return to the States prior to the start of the war
with Japan. Admiral Thomas C. Hart, the Commanding Officer of the Asiatic Fleet
told Wilkes he was staying.

Captain Wilkes was given command of
the six "S" type and some other Fleet type submarines and told to use
facilities at Soerabaja in Java.

Captain John Fife was ordered to
proceed to Darwin to establish a new Submarine Headquarters and a repair base
where the submarine Tender USS Holland (AS3) would be based.

It was soon realised that Darwin,
with its high tides was unsuitable for Submarine operations and was too open and
hence could be easily mined. USS Holland (AS3) was then relocated to Tjilaljap
in Java, which also proved unsuitable.

All three locations were often
bombed by the Japs. Java was then eventually taken by the Japanese leaving the
Asiatic Submarine Force without a base. Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia was
also considered for a while as a likely contender for a new Submarine Base. The
sub fleet sank only three merchant ships during December 1941. USS Sealion
(SS195) was sunk by the Japs while it was moored at the wharf in Cavite Navy
Yard. They only sank another 3 Japanese ships in January 1942 and Submarine S-36
was lost in the Makassar Straits. Admiral Hart requested to be relieved of
his duties.

Finally on the 3 March 1942, the USS
Holland (AS3) arrived in Fremantle to establish the new Fremantle Submarine Base
as home for 8 submarines of the Asiatic Fleet. The Officers of the submarine
command started to arrive in Fremantle and finally started to form a united
command. Captain Wilkes ordered that two large wheat loading sheds on the wharf
be leased. They were each 800 feet long and 50 feet high making them very
suitable for their submarine workshop space. The area was also serviced by a
railway line which was ideal for their operation. They also established an
Auxiliary Submarine Base at Albany further south on the Western Australian
coast.

Captain Wilkes, who was now well
overdue for replacement, was finally replaced by Rear Admiral Charles Lockwood,
who commandeered four hotels as Rest Camps for his submarine crews.

Submarine Tender USS Euryale AS 22
and USS Griffin AS13 served at Fremantle during WW2. USS Euryale was
stationed in Fremantle from August 1944 to early 1945.

USS Griffin left Brisbane on
11 November 1942 and headed for the Fiji Islands and eventually the USA. USS Griffin left
Pearl Harbor for Fremantle Submarine Base on 8 April 1944.
She arrived at Brisbane Submarine Base
on 22 April 1944 and left for Fremantle on 27 April 1944. She arrived in Fremantle
on 7 May 1944.
USS Griffin left Fremantle on 20 November 1944 and arrived in Brisbane
on 29
November 1944 and left Brisbane
on 1 December 1944 to proceed to Mios Woendi,
New Guinea to tend submarines and various surface craft.

The submarine captains while serving
in the Philippines, had complained bitterly of defective torpedoes. Rear Admiral
Lockwood, endeavoured to get the Bureau of ordnance to carryout some torpedo
performance tests. After his request was denied, he ordered his men to carry out
their own tests.

Captain Fife ordered a target net to
be anchored in Princess Royal Harbour, near Albany in Western Australia. USS Skipjack (SS188) was used to fire
three Mark XIV torpedoes at the net.

The first two torpedoes were set to
travel at 10 feet below the surface. They hit the net at 18 feet and 25 feet.
The third torpedo was set to run on the surface. It bounced off the 65 feet
harbour floor and penetrated the net at eleven feet from the surface.

The Bureau of Ordnance discredited
the tests and suggested that Rear Admiral Lockwood should conserve his scarce
supply of torpedoes. Undaunted, Lockwood organised another test. In July 1942
USS Saury (SS189) fired five Mark XIV torpedoes at
the net. All of the torpedoes ran deep.

By this time The Commander-in-Chief
of the United States Fleet, Admiral King, had heard of the issues and became
involved. King indicated that he believed Lockwood's tests and finally the
Bureau of ordnance begrudgingly acknowledged that the Mark XIV torpedoes ran
too deep.

Rear Admiral Lockwood was promoted
to Vice Admiral and ordered to command the Pacific Fleet Submarines at Pearl
Harbor after the incumbent, Admiral English, was killed in an air crash. Rear
Admiral Ralph Christie took over from Lockwood.

The Submarines that had formed the
Asiatic Fleet were returned to the US for overhaul and new submarines arrived at
Fremantle. A very large floating dry dock arrived and Submarine Repair Unit 137
was established.

USS Bowfish (SS287) and then USS
Bonefish (SS223) achieved the best results in 1943. Four Submarines based out of
Fremantle were lost in 1943 as follows:-

By the end of 1943, the number of
submarines operating out of Fremantle had increased to thirty. Advanced fuelling
bases were established at Manus in the Admiralties and Mios Woendi at Biak. In
1944, another four submarines were lost as follows:-

USS Growler was earlier based out of the Brisbane
Submarine Base. USS Growler was on
patrol in the Solomons in early 1943. On 7 February 1943, USS Growler made a
surface attack on a Japanese Naval vessel. The Japanese vessel opened fire and
killed two of those on the bridge and wounded three others. The Japanese vessel
then rammed the USS Growler. The Captain, Commander Howard Gilmore, who was one
of the wounded, ordered the bridge to be cleared. The two other wounded men were
dragged below. Commander Gilmore issued his final order "Take her
down". He remained on the bridge and lost his life in order to save his
boat. He was posthumously awarded the first submariner Medal of Honor.

USS Growler returned to Brisbane
Submarine Base with the Executive
Office assuming command of the submarine. USS
Growler had 18 feet of its bow bent at right angles. Evans Deakins & Co. at
Rocklea manufactured a new bow for USS Growler which was fitted at the South
Brisbane Dry Dock.. USS Growler left the dry dock on 1 May 1943 with a nickel
kangaroos painted on the new bow of the submarine. After this incident, USS
Growler was known as the "Kangaroo Express".

At the Brisbane
Submarine Base at New Farm, The USS Growler's main hull
is pointed towards the CSR Sugar Refinery across the Brisbane River but
her battered bow is pointing towards Hawthorne

Admiral Fife took over command of
the Fremantle Submarine Base from Admiral Christie on 30 December 1944. In 1945
another three submarines were lost as follows:-

I'd
like to thank Warren "Wally" E. Rollins, who was a member of the 197th CA (AA) Regiment for
his assistance with this home page. I'd also like to thank William E.
Bradfield a former crew member of USS Euryale (AS22) for
his assistance with this web page.